Bottom rail for venetian blinds



Oct. 18, 1949. A. 'SEMILOF 2,485,217

BOTTOM RAIL FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Filed April 5, 1946 INVENTQR ALEXSEM/LOF B Y (l/alfer' ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 18, 1949 BOTTOM RAIL FORVENETIAN BLINDS Alex Semiloi', Brooklyn, N. Y., asslgnor, by memoassignments, to Reverso Products 00., Brooklyn, N. Y., a copartnershipcomposed of Blanche G. Jablon and Irving Jablin Application April5,1948, Serial No. 659,902

14 Claims The invention relates to a bottom rail for Venetian blinds andother window shades or curtains that require more or less added weightasan aid in lowering them and for holding them under requisite tensionto prevent billowing and flapping from being windblown.

The object of the invention is to simplify the construction of the railand the attaching means for anchoring the slat-supporting tapes and theraising and lowering cords of the blind, to the same. The tapes andcords are secured to the rail in a manner to conceal the attaching meansfrom view and thereby enable the rail to be given an attractive finishedappearance.

The important structural features of the invention will be brought toattention inthe' detail description that follows.

A construction suitable for carrying my invention into effect, isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, but, it will be understood,that no limitations are intended by this showing, other than are imposedby the appended claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a view in perspective, showing the lowerportion of a Venetian blind, with the improved bottom rail attachedthereto.

Fig. 2 is a, bottom plan view of the rail.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view, with the tapes in elevation, showingone of the resilient clamp members in position, reversely bowed acrossthe rail, ready-to be pressed and sprung into the concavity thereof. Theparts in this figure and Fig. 4, are shown somewhat loosely assembled,for clearness of illustration.

Fig. 4 is a similar view, on the line s --s of Fig. 2, showing theresilient clamp member sprung into the concavity of the rail andsecured, and

Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of one of the resilient clamp members.

Referring now to the drawings I, I, indicate several of the slats thatform the lower portion of a Venetian blind; 2, 2, are the usual tapesthat support the slats and 3, 3, are the cords for raising and loweringthe blind.

The bottom rail, indicated at 4, is formed of a straight strip of sheetmetal, ordinarily of heavy gage, to give it the required weight and, incross section, isconcavo-convex, with its convex side uppermost in use.Opposite edges of the rail are bent over and inturned to form flanges 5,5, which, for purposes of appearance and tinish, extend throughout thelength thereof.

At points where the tapes 2 meet the rail, slotlike apertures areformed, as indicated at 6. 6,

to receive and position the ends )1 the tapes, which project'through theapertures and are secured in the flanged edges of the rail by resilientclamp members I, I.

The clamp members I are preferably formed of spring strip metal andextend across the rail from flange to flange, being toothed at the ends,as indicated at B, to engage the ends of the tapes. Normally, the clampmembers 1 are bowed, in reverse curvature to the concavity in the rail,as shown in Fig. 3, and are designed and adapted, as shown in thedrawing, to be sprung, by upward pressure, into the concavity of therail, to the curvature of which they then conform, as in Fig. 4.

In being sprung into the concavity of the rail, the ends of the clampmembers are forced outwardly in opposite directions, driving the endportions of thetapes well into the recesses formed by the flanged edgesof the rail flanges and securely clamping them there, with the teethfirmly embedded in the tapes.

To prevent the clamp members from being accidentally sprung out of theconcavity in the rail, headed bolts 9 are passed through registeringopenings of the clamp and rail and secured by nuts III, as best shown inFig. 4.

The bolts 9 are tubular to provide passage through the same for the endsof the raising and lowering cords of the blind, which are knotted belowthe bolts, as indicated at II and both the knots and the nuts onthe-bolts are enclosed by rubber caps I2. In addition to giving afinished appearance, the rubber caps act effectively as bumpers andprevent the window sills from being scarred by the heavy bottom railbeing carelessly dropped on it from time to time.

As the construction, operation and many important advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the foregoing, it will not be necessaryto further describe the same.

I claim:

1. A Venetian blind rail construction in which the rail is formed of astrip of material having opposite bent over edges that provide inwardlyprojecting flanges spaced apart from the body of the strip and from eachother to form inwardly opening edge channels extending in opposingrelation lengthwise of the rail, a cross member of greater length thanthe opening between the inwardly projecting flanges and bridging thesame with its ends extending into the opposing rail channels, and laddertapes secured to the rail by having end portions thereof interposed andheld undercompression between the 3 inner wall of the channels and theends of the cross member, the cross member being entered and positionedin the rail channels by being sprung bodily through the opening betweenthe channel flanges.

2. A Venetian blind rail construction, as defined in claim 1, in whichthe cross member is entered and held under compression in the railchannels on being sprung bodily through the opening between the channelflanges.

.3. A Venetian blind rail construction, as defined in claim 1, in whicha looped end formation of a ladder tape is forced and held clamped ineach edge channel of the rail by the engaging end of the cross member.

4. A Venetian blind rail construction, as defined in claim 1, in whichthe cross member is in the form of a strip of sheet material.

5. A Venetian blind rail construction, as defined in claim 1, in whichthe cross member is in the form of a strip of sheet material toothed atits ends.

6. A Venetian blind rail construction, as defined in claim 1, in whichthe cross member is in the form of a strip of resilient sheet material.

7. A Venetian blind rail construction, as defined in claim 1, in whichthe cross member is in the form of a flat strip of resilient material.

8. A Venetian blind rail construction, as defined in claim 1, in whichthe cross member is in the form of a strip of resilient sheet materialpermitting it to be bowed for entry when sprung bodily through theopening between the inwardly projecting flanges of the rail.

9. A Venetian blind rail construction, as defined in claim 1, in whichthe cross member is in the form of a strip of resilient sheet materialpermitting it to be bowed for entry when sprung bodily through theopening between the inwardly projecting flanges of the rail and tothereafter react and under applied pressure have its curvature reversedto secure it under compression to the rail.

10. A Venetian blind rail construction, as defined in claim 1, in whichthe cross member is in the form of a strip of resilient sheet materialpermitting it to be bowed for entry when sprung bodily through theopening between the inwardly projecting flanges of the rail and tothereafter react and under applied pressure have its curvature reversed,and means for securing the member with its curvature thus reversed innonyielding relation to the rail.

11. A Venetian blind rail construction, as defined in claim 1, in whichthe cross member is in the form of a strip of resilient sheet materialpermitting it to be bowed for entry when sprung bodily through theopening between the inwardly projecting flanges of the rail and tothereafter react and under applied pressure have its curvature reversed,and fastening means in the form of a bolt for securing the member withits curvature thus reversed in non-yielding relation to the rail.

12. A Venetian blind rail construction, as defined in claim 1, in whichthe cross member is in the form of a strip of resilient sheet materialpermitting it to be bowed for entry when sprung bodily through theopening between the inwardly projecting flanges of the rail and tothereafter react and under applied pressure have its curvature reversed,and fastening means in the form of a bolt for securing the member withits curvature thus reversed in non-yielding relation to the rail, thesaid bolt being tubular for the passage of the raising and lowering cordof the blind which is knotted below the bolt and the knot enclosed in acovering of cushioning material.

13. In a Venetian blind, a channeled rail having the lateral edges bentover to form inturned opposing flanges lengthwise thereof and beingapertured where the ladder tapes meet the rail for passage of the tapestherethrough, resilient members oi greater length than the openingbetween the opposing flanges extending across the rail with the endsthereof engaging the ends of the tapes projecting through the apertures,the said members being adapted to be sprung into the concavity of therail to force and clamp th tape ends under the flanged edges thereof,and means for securing the resilient members to the rail after beingsprung into the same.

14. A Venetian blind structure as defined in claim 13, in which each ofthe resilient members is apertured centrally and a bolt is passedthrough the aperture and through a registering opening of the rail andsuitably secured, the bolt being tubular for the passage of a cord bywhich the blind is raised and lowered and a knot is formed in the cordbelow the bolt and provided with an enclosing cover of suitablematerial.

ALEX SEMILOF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

